Ink ribbon carrier



March 8, 1949 [NSKEEP 2,464,042

INK RIBBON CARRIER Filed May 15, 1946 INVENTOR. CLAUDE E. HMS/KEEP Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INK RIBBON CARRIER Claude E. Inskeep, San Leandro, Calif.

Application May 15, 1946, Serial No. 669,791

6 Claims.

This invention relates to dernountable carrier devices employed as spool and ink ribbon support in the printing mechanisms of cash registers and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide, for use in the printing mechanisms of business machines, a unit comprising an inking ribbon, reeling spools therefor and a carrier for the spools also serving as a positioner for the ribbon relative to the printing mechanism impression type, which is designed for production at such low cost, as compared with that of the substantially-constructed carriers now employed in these machines and forming an inherent portion of the machine as supplied by the manufacturer, that the user may, without appreciable loss, discard the entire unit after the ribbon has become worn and replace it with an entire new unit.

A. further object of the invention is to provide an ink ribbon carrier which is capable of insertion, in a printing mechanism of the type of machine above referred to, in a fraction of the time presently required to replace a ribbon.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood however, that variations in the showing K made by the said drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a generally side perspective view of the complete ribbon carrier of my invention.

Figure 2 is a generally side perspective view of the principal or base portion of the carrier.

Figure 3 is a generally side perspective view of the secondary or wing portion of the carrier.

Figure 4 is a top view of the complete carrier showing the portions thereon of the inking ribbon and its reeling spools.

In cash registers of the tape-recording and receipt-printing type there is provided a metal carrier, designed as a permanent part of the printing mechanism, on which are mounted the supply and rewind spools for the inking ribbon through which inked impressions are made on the tape or sales receipts by metal type operable by theregister mechanism. The carrier also is provided with a plurality of spaced guide elements which conduct the ribbon as it is reeled from one spool to the other along a prescribed path over and past the printing type. The task of changinga known make of cash register.

ribbon in such a carrier is a tedious one for thereason that the carrier is locked into the register mechanism by mounting screws which also secure wing members of the carrier in closed loops through which the ribbon passes and which must be opened, by removal of the screws, before the old ribbon can be withdrawn and the new ribbon inserted in place thereof. In a busy establishment, it frequently happens that a printing ribbon will fail during a rush period thereby causing the customers the inconvenience of waiting, sometimes for as long as fifteen or twenty minutes depending upon the dexterity of the clerk in changing the ribbon, or having to leave without receiving a receipt for their purchases.

I have provided a carrier, designed as a replacement for the present comparatively costly carrier, which is not only a functional and structural substitute for the aforesaid carrier but which is also capable of such economic manufacture that the average merchant may keep onhand, without requiring a substantial financial outlay, several of the carriers previously loaded with fresh inking ribbons and ready for instant substitution, in a register or similar device, for a carrier in which the ribbon has served its usefulness or has become inoperative for any other reason. In the drawing I have illustrated a structural substitute for the ribbon carrier of a well- The present device is made up of a pair of major sections the principal one of which is shown alone in Figure 2. and comprises a molded plastic unit having a base 6 provided adjacent one end with a pair of spaced hubs 1 provided with central apertures B for slidably receiving the support shafts for spools 9 on Which the ink ribbon I I may be reeled. lhe apertures 8, together with other apertures l2 formedv in the base, provide means whereby the carrier may be mounted on and aligned with the other portions of the cash register mechanism. Meansaffecting the operation of the spools 9 are provided in a pad 13, integral with and rising from the base, which frictionally engages portions of the spools so as to prevent their axial detachment from the support shafts, and in a cylindrical stud l4 also formed integrally with the base. and adapted to carry a spring whose arms I6 bear radially against hub extensions of the spools so as to provide a frictional resistance to rotation of the spools and thus keep the ribbon II at the desired degree of tautness. provided for forming the ink ribbon in an open loop, so that it may be fed past the printing,

type of the register, comprising a plurality of! Means are? posts I! formed integrally with and rising from the base in a substantially triangular pattern. The ribbon, as shown in Figure 4 leaves one of the spools 9, passes over one post 11, longitudinally of the carrier along one side thereof, over a wall member l5 rising from a corner of the base, transversely across the carrier, along the opposite longitudinal side of the latter and in contact with another of the posts I! and thence onto the other spool 9. The described loop holds the ribbon in operative relationship to the printing type or" the register mechanism, not shown, which serves to produce legible impressions on the recording tape or receipts which are handed to the respective customers.

A secondary section of the carrier is provided comprising, in general, a die-punched piece of sheet plastic formed into a substantially U-shaped section having a back portion l8 and side wings I 9 rising in relative parallel relationship from the opposite edges thereof. The back portion I8 is provided with apertures forming an identical registrable pattern with corresponding apertures of the base 6 and, with the respective apertures in superposed registry, the portion I8 is securely cemented to the base 6 so that the side wings i9 extend upwardly from the opposite longitudinal sides of the base in parallel relationship with the posts ll. Apertures 2i formed in the wings It provide windows through which the type may operate and contact the ink ribbon and tabs 22 bent downwardly from edge portions of the wings overlie the ends of certain of the posts so as to confine the ribbon against lateral movement in its path of travel and beyond the outer ends of the posts. Due to certain design requirements, one of the posts does not have an overlying tab 22 and in this case, the end of the post is provided with a molded socket 23 into which is cemented the stem portion 2 of a plug having a diametrically enlarged head 26 which provides a peripheral shoulder on the post beyond which the ribbon may not laterally drift. A similar shoulder 21 formed near the base of this post forms a like limiting means for the ink ribbon in the opposite direction. These portions of the wings which overlie the ribbon outside of the apertures 2| provide protection for the ribbon and prevent the latter from becoming fouled in surrounding parts of the register mechanism. The carrier, in combination with the ribbon and spools mounted therein is provided as an integral unit ready to be instantly substituted in a register for a similar unit in which the ribbon has worn out or has become inoperative for any other reason. Thi may be done in the matter of a few seconds and will permit the register to be used immediately without causing the customer any appreciable inconvenience as was heretofore experienced due to waiting until the register was reconditioned for use. Carriers containing spent or non-functioning ribbons be returned to the ribbon factory or agency for reloading or the store clerks may be taught to do this in their slack periods. The carrier may be mounted on a cash register such as shown in the patent to Shipley 1,761,542, June 3, 1930.

I ciaim:

l. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a nonmetallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having thereon spaced elements for engaging portions of said ribbon loop, a substan- 4 tially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member attached to said base member and provided with wing members adapted to overlie portions of the ribbon and having therein openings through which said ribbon is exposed.

2. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a nonmetallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having thereon integral spaced elements traversing and for engaging portions of said ribbon loop, a substantially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member attached to said base member and provided with wing members overlying portions of said ribbon, and said wing members having therein openings through which said ribbon is exposed.

3. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a, ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a nonmetallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having thereon integral spaced elements traversing and for engaging portions of said ribbon loop, a substantially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member having a back portion adhesively secured to said base member and provided with integral wing members rising from said base member and overlying portions of said ribbon, and said wing members having therein openings through which said ribbon is exposed.

4. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a non metallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having theron integral spaced posts traversing and for engaging said ribbon within the loop thereof, a wall member rising from said base member and cooperative with said posts to engage said ribbon loop, a substantially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member cemented to said base member and having integral wing members positioned to rise from opposite edges of said base mamber, said wing members adapted to overlie portions of said ribbon and having therein openings through which saidribbon is exposed.

5. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a nonmetallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having thereon integral spaced posts traversing and for engaging said ribbon within the loop thereof, a wall member rising from said base member and cooperative with said posts to engage said ribbon loop, a substantially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member cemented to said base member and having integral wing members positioned to rise from opposite edges of said base member, said wing members adapted to overlie portions of said ribbon and having therein openings through which said ribbon is exposed, and said wing members further having thereon integral tabs overlying ends of said posts to provide closed guides through which the looped portion of said ribbon passes.

6. A carrier adapted to support a pair of reeling spools and to hold a ribbon carried by said spools in a circuitous loop comprising a nonmetallic base member having thereon means for receiving spindles for supporting said spools and further having thereon integral spaced posts traversing and for engaging said ribbon within.

the loop thereof, a wall member rising from said base member and cooperative with said posts to engage said ribbon loop, a substantially U-shaped non-metallic sheet member cemented to said base member and having integral Wing members positioned to rise from opposite edges of said base 5 member, said Wing members adapted to overlie portions of said ribbon and having therein openings through which said ribbon is exposed, and one of said posts having thereon a shouldered portion providing a guide for an edge of said 10 ribbon and a enlarged head element secured thereto to provide a shoulder spaced in relation to said aforesaid shouldered portion and forming a guide for the opposite edge of said ribbon.

CLAUDE E. INSKEEP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

